The international boycott of Hamas is having some unintended consequences.

Staff at the Palestinian Authority's environmental protection agency are grounded for lack of petrol money and are no longer able to monitor levels of industrial waste and sewage entering the water supply.

The owner of a once-prosperous supermarket is pondering whether he can extend the credit limit of customers - who long since ran out of cash - without going broke himself.

As the World Bank re-ported at the weekend, the economic crisis confronting the Palestinians is even worse than that projected when international donors announced a cut-off of direct aid to the Hamas-led government.

Its own estimate that personal incomes would sink by 30 per cent this year while the number of people living in poverty would rise from 44 to 67 per cent of the population appears, in the words of the report, to have been too rosy.

The paper was prepared ahead of Tuesday's Middle East Quartet meeting in New York at which the US, European Union, United Nations and Russia will have to decide whether restrictions on aid will force Hamas to modify its stance towards Israel or, more likely, as the World Bank warns, provoke a humanitarian crisis, increased violence and the collapse of the PA.

The poor, many living in refugee camps in Gaza and the West Bank, have had to adjust to living on humanitarian handouts since an Israeli ban on day labourers entering Israel deprived them of their readiest source of income.

The latest crisis, however, has begun to hit the middle classes, among them government employees who have remained at their desks in spite of facing a third straight month without pay.

Nabil Zakout, assistant director-general of the PA's Environment Quality Auth-ority, has not had a pay slip since March 5.

Mr Zakout's income was always modest - the equivalent of $500 a month for a senior grade post. With a $25,000 mortgage and four children to feed, he is surviving on loans from relatives until the money runs out.

Like most of his staff, he still turns up for work every day. "It's better to be employed with no pay than not to be employed at all."

But the British-trained water engineer is concerned about the wider impact of the crisis.

"There can be very serious consequences if institutions can't operate. In our case, water and air quality can deteriorate if we can't monitor," he says.

At Gaza's Shifa hospital, 1,300 doctors, nurses and administrators - also unpaid since March - are struggling to maintain essential services.

"Ninety per cent of people in the Gaza Strip depend on government health services," says Ibrahim al-Habash, hospital director. "We've suffered in the past but now it's worse and there is a real shortage of medication and other supplies. On top of that, some staff can't even afford the fare to work any more."

Ismail el-Jadba, a vascular surgeon, gets by on the salary his wife earns as a physician with Unrwa, the UN refugee agency not affected by the aid boycott, plus work at a private out-patient clinic. "That used to bring me Shk500 ($110) a day. Now it's down to Shk50."

Many of the 160,000 public employees now survive on credit - their combined debts amount to $340m, according to the European Commission - or on help from their families. "Palestinians are very close and what little they have they share," said Mr Zakout. "We haven't lost our social fabric. We're not that western yet".

At the Lebanon Paradise supermarket, an elderly veiled woman has come to beg for change. "A woman like that would never have done such a thing before," says Imad M'ttar, the owner, as he counts the day's takings - Shk1,940 ($430).

In the same day, he gave credit to trusted customers of twice that amount. "This store used to take $5,000 a day. Now no one has any money. I've had to lay off five of my 10 staff. I deal with a lot of government institutions and they always paid up. Now they want me to double their credit".

So far, few are blaming Hamas for their plight, in spite of the fact that the Islamist group's refusal to recognise Israel, lay down its weapons and abide by existing agreements provoked the international boycott.

"I didn't vote for Hamas or for Fatah," says Mr Zakout. "At the beginning of the boycott, we believed the west would eventually see our point of view because everyone knew it was a free and democratic election. Who's suffering? Not Hamas ministers or Fatah leaders but the people."

There is, nevertheless, concern that a deteriorating economic situation will exacerbate tensions between Hamas and Fatah. Three men were killed in clashes between the two factions yesterday. The mood is made worse by daily shellfire that booms almost constantly from the northern Gaza Strip as the Israeli army responds to sporadic rocket fire by militants.

Hamas insists that Palestinian steadfastness will prevail. "They have misunderstood the Arab mentality," says Khalil Abu Leila, a Hamas leader in Gaza. "As long as the pressure increases on Hamas, the more popular it will become. If it accepts conditions, its popularity will decrease

"So far, few are blaming Hamas for their plight, in spite of the fact that the Islamist group's refusal to recognise Israel, lay down its weapons and abide by existing agreements provoked the international boycott."

Are not these the same people that celebrated 9/11? Doesn't this mean we can celebrate their demise at the hands of "reality"? Shoosh, they have their state and now find out they have nothing to eat. Well I am sure that the PA will set things straight real quick.

Well, I guess when you spend all your available funds on nail-embroidered dynamite homicide-suicide vests and ground-to-ground missles for murdering as many infidels as possible, you can't pay for local necessities like public sanitation and hospitals. So sad.

I'm just glad we aren't subsidizing these absurdities any longer, and hope that we and the rest of the non-islamofascist world stick to that policy in the future.

"Listen, I have a whole box of single edge razors I'll donate if the palis promise to use them to cut their own wrists."

That's essentially what they did by electing Hamas. It's what they did by bombing Israeli civilians in terrorist attacks, which is why the day laborers aren't allowed into Israel anymore (notice the article didn't mention that detail).

In short, it's what the Palis have done for decades, namely commit cultural suicide on the altar of Islam, so in fact your idea is redundant...

Gee, ya know, I almost could feel sorry for the Philistines...............but then I remember how they danced and whooped it up on 9/11....and have the gall to appear before us with hands outstretched for a handout, moaning about how they need money, infrastructure breaking down, etc., etc., etc. When they see fit to stop terrorism, homicide bombings, declaring jihad everytime a butterfly breaks wind, and mooching off the American taxpayer, I'll see if I can find some sympathy for the Philistines.

The international boycott of Hamas is having some unintended consequences.

What a silly statement!

Of course it can't have "unintended" consequences. The very purpose of a boycott is to force the killers to choose survival or destruction. Survival, of course, beginning by abandoning the goal of destroying the state it claims to own: Israel. And the decision to begin to create a civilized society, if it is possible to do so after five generations of single-purpose murdering existence.

The "palestinians" are simply a tool, a weapon, of the Umma. It has performed exactly as intended.

22
posted on 05/09/2006 9:41:17 AM PDT
by Publius6961
(Multiculturalism is the white flag of a dying country)

But, but, but, but, didn't BBC and Reuters and NBC and CBS and Jimmy Carter all tell us that the reason Palestinians voted for Hamas was because they weren't "corrupt" like Fatah and they had a well-run infrastructure of health care services, food banks, day care centers, and recreation facilities?

The international boycott of Hamas is having some unintended consequences.

What a silly statement!

Of course it can't have "unintended" consequences. The very purpose of a boycott is to force the killers to choose survival or destruction. Survival, of course, beginning by abandoning the goal of destroying the state it claims to own: Israel. And the decision to begin to create a civilized society, if it is possible to do so after five generations of single-purpose murdering existence.

The "palestinians" are simply a tool, a weapon, of the Umma. It has performed exactly as intended.

27
posted on 05/09/2006 9:45:02 AM PDT
by Publius6961
(Multiculturalism is the white flag of a dying country)

Shi'ite does happen. Recall that Hamas was planning on assassinating Abbas. Since when does terrorism and treason win elections? Everything that comes their way is deserved. The Palis must rise up and throw these terrorists out on their own and, if necessary, with violence. Otherwise, they will die of starvation, disease, and lack of medical care. So be it.

"The "palestinians" are simply a tool, a weapon, of the Umma. It has performed exactly as intended."

Exactly! In the looking glass logic of the Islamist, this is an opportunity. It dumps the old, footsi PLO/FatAss and will leave the stronger Hamas victorious, the West supplicating and the Death to Everyone still in place. Watch for more real and 'created' video of paliwog suffering. Sofar everything is working to Hamas's benifit. For now. Rice/Bush the EU are idiots if they go crawling back, begging Hamas to forgive them.

35
posted on 05/09/2006 10:08:27 AM PDT
by Leisler
(Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslim.)

Oh man, this is good. Where are the scumbag saudies and iran in all this??? They hate the palis just as much as they hate the Jews. They use them for cannon fodder and the palis are way to dumb to see it.

Staff at the Palestinian Authority's environmental protection agency are grounded for lack of petrol money and are no longer able to monitor levels of industrial waste and sewage entering the water supply.

said Mr Zakout. "We haven't lost our social fabric. We're not that western yet".

No Mr. Z, we wouldn't let our bretheren suffer the way your people are about to suffer. We are not a third world shiitehole. We are a dignified people that pull together when adversity strikes. Where are your muslim buddies?

An Israeli soldier stands by bags containing 550 kilograms (1212 pounds) of TNT explosives at a navy military port in the coastal Israeli city of Ashdod May 9, 2006. Israel thwarted an attempt by Palestinians to smuggle explosives to the Ashdod May 9, 2006. Israel thwarted an attempt by Palestinians to smuggle explosives to the Gaza Strip by sea from neighbouring Egypt last week, the military said.

47
posted on 05/09/2006 10:37:09 AM PDT
by Sabramerican
(I thought I was voting for George. I voted for Bandar.)

Hamas insists that Palestinian steadfastness will prevail. "They have misunderstood the Arab mentality," says Khalil Abu Leila, a Hamas leader in Gaza. "As long as the pressure increases on Hamas, the more popular it will become. If it accepts conditions, its popularity will decrease."

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